With a final wave goodbye, the trio made their way south of Corel towards Cosmo Canyon. Although they had a little trouble getting their chocobos to cross the river, they eventually made it to the other side.

Once they'd done so, however, Vincent's face grew more despondent.

"Is something the matter?" Tifa asked, pushing her chocobo up to walk alongside her friend. "You seem kinda quiet..."

"I...must leave you for a time," Vincent said at last. "Head for Cosmo Canyon, and I will meet you there shortly."

"What do you mean?"

Vincent looked north and pulled the reigns on his chocobo to adjust its direction. "There's something I must do," he said flatly before he spurred the chocobo into an all out gallop.

Tifa frowned as she watched him slowly disappear over the horizon.

"Is he gonna be all right, Miss Tifa?" Marlene said as she pulled on the older woman's arm.

"Probably," Tifa ventured a guess. "I don't know where he's going, but he must have his reasons."

"I hope he comes back soon," Marlene mumbled to herself.

They continued riding on without their red-clothed friend until the landscape began to take on a reddish hue of its own.

"The air is funny here," Marlene stated as she looked around. "The sky is as red as the ground."

"The red dust in the air must make it seem that way," Tifa agreed as she glanced up quickly at the crimson sun. "Oh, Marlene," she spoke up suddenly. "When we get to Cosmo Canyon, we may meet someone there..."
"Oh? Who is it?"

"Well, that's the thing. We called him 'Red Thirteen'; 'Red'; 'Nanaki'- any of those things. He doesn't really mind what we call him, but-"

"What an odd thing to say! I would mind if someone called me something besides Marlene!"

"Well, he really doesn't mind, but listen: he's not exactly...um...human."

"What do you mean?" Marlene asked suspiciously. "Is he a monster?"

"No, of course not!" Tifa laughed. "He's very sweet and nice, but he looks...well, kinda like a big cat." It sounded dumb comparing one of her best friends to a domesticated animal, but those were the only words she could describe him with.

"Really? Does he like to play with string?"

"Somehow I doubt that," Tifa said under her breath. "Look, just don't say anything mean, all right?" she instructed.

"I'm not a mean person!" Marlene protested.

Tifa laughed and left it at that. Well, she would soon find out for herself: Cosmo Canyon lay just over the next rise.

By the time they arrived at the city gates, the sun had already set, and the torch lights that lit the city at night gave it an iridescent red glow.

As she dismounted her ride, Tifa wasn't the least bit surprised to see that the first one to greet her was none other than Red Thirteen.

"Tifa!" he said happily, his tail waving sporadically in what Tifa could only assume was excitement. "It's been too long! How have you been? Was your journey safe? If only I'd known you were coming then I could have prepared a welcoming ceremony or-"

"Easy, Red," Tifa laughed as she leaned over to hug him. "It's not a big deal. We were kind of in the neighborhood."

"Somehow I doubt that," Red Thirteen said sarcastically. "And who is this little one you have with you?" he asked, indicating Marlene who still sat perched atop the chocobo.

"Marlene," Tifa began, "this is Red Thirteen. Red, Marlene."

Marlene's eyes were wide in amazement. "You look just like a big kitty!" she remarked loudly.

Any villager nearby enough to hear her remark laughed loudly. Red Thirteen tilted his head and smiled awkwardly, while Tifa buried her head in her hands and shook her head. "Marlene, I told you not to say anything like that!" Tifa scolded.

"No, no, it's all right," Red Thirteen said with a slight grin still spread across his face. "An innocent child could hardly be faulted for drawing any conclusion other than that one. Tell me, Marlene, do I look like any cat you have ever seen before?" he asked as he waved his glowing tail from side to side.

"Well, no," Marlene admitted. "Once Mrs. Thompson- she lives near our home in Midgar- once she had a cat that was orange, but he wasn't as pretty as you."

"Why, thank you," Red Thirteen replied, genuinely flattered. "It's not everyday I hear that from someone."

"Can I call you 'Fluffy'?" Marlene asked abruptly.

Red Thirteen stared back at her with wide eyes. By now, a small crowd had gathered to witness the exchange and all of them burst into extreme fits of laughter.

"Not everyday I hear that from someone, either," Red Thirteen muttered under his breath.

"What's the matter?" Marlene protested. She couldn't understand why everyone was making a big ruckus. "Miss Tifa told me that you didn't care what you were called. Is Fluffy a bad name?" she posed.

He glanced over at Tifa, who merely shrugged in response. "Very well," Red Thirteen sighed. "I gave Tifa the opportunity to pick a name for me, so I suppose I should give you the same courtesy." He walked up to Marlene and, whispering into her ear, he added, "Just don't call me that in front of anyone, okay?"

"Okay!" Marlene nodded.

"Good. Now that that's settled," he turned to Tifa. "What brings you all the way out here? Surely it wasn't just to pay a visit to little old me?"

"You make it sound like a bad thing to want to see an old friend," Tifa said with a mildly dejected tone.

"No! Of course not! It's just that...well, it's been so long that I was wondering if I'd ever see any of you again. I don't suppose you've seen the others have you? Cloud? Barret?"

"Well, I have seen Barret," Tifa replied quickly. "Still working on Cloud. Vincent's actually been traveling with me, so he should be arriving shortly."

"Oh? Where did he run off to?" Red Thirteen asked as he watched Marlene wander off towards the large bonfire in the center of the town.

"You know, I'm not really sure," Tifa confessed. "It's been a while since he left, so I suppose it could be anywhere."

"Hm," Red Thirteen replied absentmindedly.

"Something on your mind?" Tifa queried.

"That girl," he nodded over towards Marlene. "She is the one Barret spoke of, is she not?"

"Yeah. What about her?"

"I was just curious," Red Thirteen replied. "He has raised her as one of his own, yet she is not his biological daughter, is she?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Tifa responded in kind. "No. Her father had supposedly died while she was still very young. When Barret finally met him again, he was already dead in a way."

"You refer to Dyne?"

"Barret told you about him too, huh?" Tifa posed.

Red Thirteen shook his head. "It is only what I gathered from bits and pieces of conversation." Turning his head to regard Marlene once more, he said softly, "There's something about that child. I can't quite put my paw on it, but...it seems that someone is watching over her. There is a mystical energy about her."

"And what makes you say that?"

Red Thirteen returned his gaze to Tifa, who had moved to the chocobo to retrieve her bags. "There is something terribly wrong with the planet. It's not direct. In fact, it's merely a very faint impression, but...I feel that death hangs heavily in the air nowadays. Then again, it's not death in its truest nature, either."

Tifa pressed her lips together. "Listen, Red, there actually was a reason I had come here."

"I thought so," Red Thirteen nodded. "Do you want to go to the tower and talk about it?"

"Will Marlene be all right out here by herself, you think?"

"Of course. The townspeople here will look after her."

Taking him for his word, Tifa silently made her way up to the tower that stood at the pinnacle of the town. She was glad to see that the inside had not changed these past two years. Taking a seat across from Red Thirteen, she took a deep breath and waited for him to speak first.

"Are you afraid?" he asked quietly after a few moments of silence.

Tifa thought long and hard before she finally answered. "No," she said, "not for myself. I'm afraid for my friends- for Marlene, and all of the people. I probably can't sense it as acutely as you, but I can feel the mounting tension. I guess my biggest fear is that I won't be able to do anything to stop it."

Red Thirteen nodded. "You've changed," he said approvingly. "It's true, there is a new danger to the world. I've heard rumors of a disease spreading amongst the younger generation. Fortunately, Cosmo Canyon seems to have been spared for some reason, if only for now. If Grandpa- I mean Bugenhagen were still with us he would be able to enlighten us as to the cause, and maybe even offer a solution. But that still doesn't explain why you've come here in the first place. I think you should start at the beginning. I won't interrupt until you've finished."

After he spoke, he rested his forehead in his paws and closed his eyes. If Tifa didn't know better, she'd say it looked as though he'd fallen asleep.

Gathering her thoughts, Tifa began slowly. "It all started when Marlene came home late one night. She told me that she'd been talking to someone for the past few nights, and when I asked her about it, the person she described sounded an awful lot like Cloud."

Red Thirteen nodded, but did not speak, nor did he open his eyes.

"Naturally, I asked where she'd met him, and it ended up being in the same church where Cloud had first met Aeris. At first I thought that nobody was there, but then I heard a crashing sound in the back, and when I went to investigate, I found a small piece of paper."

Here, she stopped her narration and pulled out the said note and set it down for Red Thirteen to read. His eyebrows furrowed as he waited patiently for her to continue.

"When I looked up to see where it had come from, I saw a figure standing in the rafters that I could have sworn was Cloud."

"I assume from your tone that it was not so," Red Thirteen interjected softly.

"Like I said, it seemed like Cloud, but by the time I got to where he was, he had disappeared.

"So then I felt that I needed to follow him. I packed my bags and headed for Kalm, along with Marlene. I figured it would be a good place to start. I got wind that Vincent had been there and was headed towards Nibelheim, so I high-tailed it outta there and ended up meeting him halfway to Junon. It seems he'd also been given a strange note, which explained why he was out in the middle of nowhere to begin with."

"Forgive me, but I must ask a question," Red Thirteen interrupted. "Did he see the same person you did?"

Tifa shook her head. "No, he found the note lying in his room somewhere. The funny thing is, he went to try to find Cloud, too, but when he did, something was wrong. Cloud told Vincent that he hadn't sent a note of any kind, nor did he want any visitors."

"How unlike him," Red Thirteen remarked.

"Yes, that's exactly what I said!"

"And yet you say Marlene describes someone who looks like Cloud, and you, yourself saw someone you thought may have been him?"

"Well, I know it sounds stupid, but yes. Anyway, after that we went to Corel to meet with Barret. At first, we were hoping he'd be able to join us so that we could have a big brainstorming session, but he couldn't get away from his work. We found out that he hadn't received a note for some odd reason, but since he couldn't come with us anyway, it didn't really matter."

"I think I see where this is going," Red Thirteen said lowly, "but please continue."

"While we were there, something odd happened. We were talking about that disease, and Vincent made a funny remark- almost like he knew what it was."

Here, Red Thirteen's eyes hardened. "What did he say, exactly?"

"It wasn't anything direct," Tifa replied. "It was just a gut feeling- like he was hiding something from us."

"It's quite possible," Red Thirteen proposed. "As someone who worked closely with...Hojo," he said the name with a growl, "I imagine he may have been granted some insight- the likes of which we otherwise would not have access to."

"Do you think that's why he's disappeared right now? Maybe it has something to do with the disease?"

Red Thirteen shook his head. "Once you cross the river from Corel, there's a large cave to the north. If I'm not mistaken, that's where Lucrecia's late soul resided. More than likely he has gone there to pay his respects before he rejoins you here."

"Oh," Tifa said, covering her mouth with her hand. "I hadn't even thought of that...I hope he's all right."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Red Thirteen assured her. "Nevertheless, I think it would be wise not to let him know about our conversation. If for whatever reason he's hiding something, it could be harmful to confront him about it prematurely."

"I think so, too," Tifa quickly agreed.

"An interesting story," he said in reference to Tifa's narration. "Many odd developments. I don't suppose you've asked Marlene her opinion of the man? What they talked about? Especially considering the fact that she probably saw him face to face?"

Tifa's eyes widened in horror. "Oh my gosh!" she wailed loudly. "I can't believe I never asked her! How stupid of me!!"

"I wouldn't worry about it. Sometimes it's easy to overlook the observations of a child. Still, when you find time I would question her about it."

"Yes, of course!"

"In reference to the letter...only you and Vincent have received notes so far. And yes, from the look you're giving me I can tell you it's safe to assume that I haven't been contacted either. It seems that only those who are free to leave their localized areas are receiving notes. You may know that I am now responsible for the protection of this canyon, and as such I am unable to leave at the current time."

"You really can't?" Tifa pleaded.

Red Thirteen smiled, but shook his head. "Tifa, it is my duty to protect this sacred place. You know I could never abandon that responsibility."

"Well, I guess so," Tifa sulked.

"It seems that whoever gave you the notes is either very intuitive or very manipulative. I think it's safe to assume that the person both you and Marlene saw was not, in fact, Cloud."

"What makes you say that?"

"It's just a rationalization. If Vincent, who was a former Turk, believed Cloud's story that he had not delivered notes of any kind, then it's safe to assume that he was telling the truth. The only problem, then, lies in the fact that not everyone has received a note. If someone were trying to manipulate us, then surely we would all have been contacted. But since only a select few have thus far been approached, it's safe to assume that it is more than likely a calling."

Tifa furrowed her eyebrows. "A calling to what?" she asked quietly.

"Considering the situation, I'd say it was a call to battle."

Not quite sure how to take that response, all Tifa could do was continue to stare at Red Thirteen and wait for him to continue.

"In a war, you mobilize every troop available to you except for the ones you need to work in localized areas. Barret, for example, is pioneering the search for new energy supplies. As for myself, I am upholding a tradition that has been passed down for generations in my family- essentially protecting this land that has been blessed by the planet.

"You and Vincent, and in a small way Marlene, as well, have been called to take action. For what purpose, I cannot really say. That, I'm afraid is something you will have to discover on your own."

"But if it wasn't Cloud who summoned us...then who?" Tifa demanded.

"That," Red Thirteen said with a wide smile, "is the sixty-four thousand gil question."

FFVII

They chatted for about ten more minutes before Tifa had to step outside. As it stood, there were simply too many questions that needed answering and she was getting fed up with it.

Briefly, Tifa wondered if she should just ignore Vincent's advice and seek out Cloud all on her own. Whether he wanted to see her or not, it would at the very least help clear up a few of the mysteries. Nevertheless, there was something about the way Vincent had counseled her- almost as if she'd be putting herself in danger if she went. If Cloud had truly changed so much, then Tifa had no interest in finding out for herself. She wanted to remember the Cloud from two years ago.

Sighing heavily, she descended the steps leading down towards the large courtyard. The bonfire that was steadily blazing earlier had now been reduced to smoldering embers. Fortunately, it still offered some comforting warmth as Tifa sat with her chin resting between her knees.

Thinking she heard a slight rustling sound, Tifa turned and found that Vincent was there, sitting next to her. If it were anyone else, the quiet approach would have been somewhat unnerving, but with Vincent such things were commonplace occurrences.

"Hey," Tifa said quietly as she returned her gaze to the dying flames.

She hadn't really been expecting an answer and Vincent offered none. The silence that passed between them seemed as deep as the oceans of Junon, but somehow it was bearable.

Then, Vincent asked: "Is Marlene sleeping?"

"Probably. Red Thirteen told me the villagers would look after her, so I imagine she's at an inn somewhere."

"I see," Vincent murmured as he lifted his eyes to gaze above.

"I remember a time," Tifa spoke wistfully, "that this was one of the only places you could really see the stars from at night." Once again, she wasn't expecting any sort of reply, so she pressed on. "It was a night like this...maybe twelve or thirteen years ago, that Cloud and I met under a sky like this one. It was when he told me he wanted to join SOLDIER. I didn't really know him that well, but I was still sad to hear him say it. Not long before that he had saved my life when I had fallen off of Mount Nibel."

Vincent nodded. It seemed he still was not interested in speaking, but he was at least paying attention.

Tifa laughed softly- a hollow thing that sounded anything but joyous. "And then when he came back, he saved my life again when he defeated the invincible Sephiroth while mortally wounded. I think...I'd known it deep down before then, but that was the first time I really noticed that Cloud was something special."

"His inward strength is colossal," Vincent admitted coolly. "I am proud to call him one of my friends."

"I think that's one of the things I like most about him," Tifa agreed. "When I'm with him, I feel like I can do anything. If it wasn't for him, I don't think I would have had the strength to finish our journey." Tifa's eyes watered slightly but she continued speaking. "I've waited so long to see him again, Vincent, but now I'm afraid. If he's really what you say he is, then I'm not sure if I could handle it. Has he really changed so much that he wouldn't...even want to see me?"

Vincent turned to look at the woman, but he did not reply.

"Is he even the same Cloud?" she pressed on. "When you spoke of him, it almost sounded like you were referring to him as an enemy. Is that what he is now? Because if it is, then I might as well go home right now! If he turns into another Sephiroth, I...I k-know that I wouldn't have the power to fight him."

"Tifa," Vincent said softly as he put a reassuring arm on her shoulder. "Perhaps the best thing for you to do now is to see him yourself. Ask him yourself whether or not he is the same Cloud from before."

Tifa sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "W-What do you mean? I thought you said-"

"I know perfectly well what I said," Vincent smiled, a rare sight indeed. "But while I was away, I had a chance to do some thinking. I realized that our situations may not be too dissimilar. When I was still a human being-"

"You're a human," Tifa said angrily. "I don't know how many times I have to say that before you'll just accept it!"

Vincent chuckled. "Very well, then. Before I became what I am now, the love that I had for Lucrecia was all that mattered to me. Even after I changed, it was that love that kept me sane. Rather, it was the thing that gave me the strength to fight my demons in order to become what I am today. Visiting her resting place today made me realize that Cloud and I are both very similar."

"Vincent, you don't have to..." Tifa trailed off.

"It's all right," Vincent assured her. "I think it's important that I tell you this. In the same way that Lucrecia was my support, you are Cloud's bastion. Namely, that no matter how much Cloud has changed, he is still the same person you fell in love with. Maybe you are all he truly needs in order to find himself again. If that is the case, then the sooner you find him the better. Otherwise, it is a very real possibility that the Cloud from two years ago will truly die."

"But...what about Marlene?" Tifa asked. Now she was merely trying to think of reasons not to go.

"I'll look after Marlene," Vincent told her. "Go. Now, and don't look back. You'll find Cloud in the Da-chao mountain range."

Tifa hesitated and looked as though she was about to protest the whole affair, but then she nodded resolutely. "Thank you," she said as she embraced him firmly before running at top speed towards the chocobos. She quickly pulled out Marlene's things and put them in a separate pack before she mounted the animal and sped away.

Vincent smiled as he watched her go, but he did not move from his position. "No, thank you, Tifa," he said to himself. "I don't know when we shall meet again, but hopefully you'll become an even stronger person before then. Because of your help, I think I finally understand what is going on."

So saying, he deftly got to his feet and walked over towards the inn. After finding her location from the innkeeper, Vincent slipped quietly into Marlene's room and gently picked her up in his arms.

"Mr...Vincent?" Marlene said groggily. "What's wrong? Are we going somewhere?"

"Rest now, little one," Vincent said softly. "We're going to see an old friend of mine in Rocket Town."